If Plan B goes OTC, common sense suffers

Thanks to a federal judge's ruling last Friday, the Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive pill could soon be available on drugstore shelves to everyone, no matter how young.

That would be a mistake, and the Obama administration should appeal the judge's ruling.

In recent years, the fight over access to the "morning after" pill has taken more twists and turns than the DNA molecule.

The Food and Drug Administration, looking strictly at the science, deemed the pill safe and effective; the FDA approved it in 2011 for over-the-counter sales, only to be promptly overruled by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. She directed that the pill remain behind the counter, where those 17 and older need to ask a druggist and show an ID. For younger girls, a prescription is required. President Obama, father of two daughters, chimed in that it's important to "apply some common sense" to over-the-counter medicine.

A reproductive rights group sued to overturn Sebelius' ruling, and last week U.S. District Judge Edward Korman invalidated her "obviously political" decision. If the Obama administration fails to appeal within 30 days, the FDA must clear the way for Plan B to be available over the counter throughout the country.

Predictably, the ruling has set off a political storm. Many liberals hailed the decision as a safe way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions, while conservatives argued that it puts the health of young girls at risk and meddles in family affairs.

If only the choice were that stark. The case stirs a complex stew of issues that affect not just law and science but also cultural sensitivities and deeply personal questions about sex, religion and child-rearing.

In such circumstances, political judgment - and as Obama said, common sense - are wholly appropriate, no matter the judge's scorn.

Yes, making the drug more readily available would avoid unwanted pregnancies. That's a big plus. But should children really be given unfettered access to a drug that can be dangerous if used improperly and has significant side effects, including severe cramping, bleeding and nausea, even if instructions are followed? Most children can't even take an aspirin to school without parental permission.

At a minimum, Plan B should remain behind the counter to ensure that young teens will at least get instructions about its use from a pharmacist. A study of girls 17 and younger, supported by the drug's maker, found that 8% would have misused Plan B, most of them when they believed they were already pregnant. That can result in a dangerous ectopic pregnancy.

More broadly, parental rights should not be routinely pre-empted. Who, after all, is best positioned to make a medical decision for a 14-year-old: the child or the parent? Take sex and abortion out of the argument, and chances are that nearly everyone would say that the parent is. That's a sound standard to follow.

What the administration will do next is unclear. It could let the judge's ruling stand. Or it could appeal and seek to modify Sebelius' edict by lowering the age or reducing the prescription requirement. But the administration pretty much had it right the first time. The greater good is to leave decisions about the medical treatment of children in their parents' hands.

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If Plan B goes OTC, common sense suffers

Thanks to a federal judge's ruling last Friday, the Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive pill could soon be available on drugstore shelves to everyone, no matter how young.